WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL QUARTERFINALS: Suffolk Earns First-Ever GNAC Tournament Victory

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

THURSDAY SEMIFINALS:
#5 Suffolk at #1 JWU (7:30),
#3 Colby-Sawyer at #2 Rivier (7:00)

#1 JWU 3, #8 SJC 0
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Three days after meeting in the regular season finale, the Johnson & Wales University and Saint Joseph's of Maine women's volleyball teams played again in the quarterfinals of the GNAC Tournament. The Wildcats defeated the Saints again on Tuesday with a 3-0 (25-9, 25-11, 25-20) decision. 

Records: 
Saint Joseph's of Maine: 10-18
#2 Johnson & Wales: 29-1

Statistical Leaders:
Kate Walker (JWU): 9 kills, .500 hitting %
Brylee Frank (JWU): 34 assists
Elyssa Nicolas (JWU): 16 digs

Of Note:
JWU moves on to face Suffolk in the semifinals of the GNAC Tournament. The Wildcats will host that game at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.

The Wildcats won their 56^th-straight home match, the fifth-longest in Division III history. They also extended the longest active winning streak in the nation to 29 matches.

JWU has won 76-consecutive sets against GNAC opponents.

Johnson & Wales came out blazing in the first set, hitting .448 while holding the Monks to a .029 rate. The defense was even better in the second set as SJC was limited to a -.115 rate.

The service line was a big factor as the Wildcats had 12 aces – their second-highest total of the year – and kept the Monks off balance all night. Senior Monica Cordova led all player with three aces.

Leading the way offensively was Kate Walker with nine kills and a .500 hitting percentage.

Kelsey Bickford paced Saint Joseph's with eight winners.

Courtesy of JWU Athletics Communications.

#5 SUFFOLK 3, #4 LASELL 0
NEWTON, Mass. – The Suffolk volleyball team rewrote history twice Tuesday night as the Rams defeated Lasell in the GNAC Quarterfinals with both the win over Lasell and in the league quarterfinals a first in program history.  The victory came in straight sets by scores 25-20, 25-21 and 26-24.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 3, Lasell 0
RECORDS: Suffolk (12-16) | Lasell (13-19) 

SET ONE RECAP (25-20, SUFFOLK)

• Suffolk climbed out of a small hole early and flipped a 7-all set into a 10-7 lead. 
• A solo block for Sarah Mullahy started a 4-1 Rams' to that put the visitors in front, 15-11, and forced the Lasers to use a timeout. 
• The break did not slow down Suffolk who took a 17-13 cushion on Chidera Nwankwo's third kill of the evening and held onto a 20-16 cushion behind the senior's fourth. 
• Lasell attempted a late comeback with a 3-1 spurt to cut the blue-and-gold's edge to three, 23-20. 
• Suffolk put the frame away 25-20 with a Kayla Barberakill followed up by a Bridget Allison block.  

SET TWO RECAP (25-21, SUFFOLK)

• Suffolk broke out in front 4-1 to get the second stanza started. 
• The back-and-forth affair ensued as 10 ties and three exchanges occurred. 
• Mullahy broke up a 16-all tie and the Rams took the lead behind a Lasers misplay. 
• From there, the score locked twice more before Suffolk remained in front 22-20. 
• Lasell called a timeout to talk things over and once and break up the Rams' run. 
• Out of the break Suffolk quickly built set point with an ace from Talia Lombardo and a kill from Mullahy. 
•  The Lasers used a service error by the Rams to hold off set point, but a bad set by Kelly Cappitella on the next play allowed Suffolk to lock up the set, 25-21.  

SET THREE (26-24, SUFFOLK)

• Lasell forced Suffolk to play catchup for the majority of the third frame. 
• An ace from Emma Feeney leveled the playing field at 11-all and the Rams took the lead on the next play, but it was shortlived as the Lasers put the visitors in a 16-13 hole. 
• Nwankwo combined a couple kills to chip the deficit to one before Olivia Addington's attack error locked the score at 16. 
• A Lasell timeout kept the Rams from gaining the advantage and put the visitors in a 22-17 hole. 
• Once again Nwankwo kept the Rams alive with her 13^thkill of the night and the senior sparked Suffolk's comeback as it pulled within on, 24-23. 
• The Lasers tried using their second timeout of the set to slow down Suffolk, but this time it didn't work as the Rams rolled out of the break with three straight points to seal the set, 26-24, and match.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Nwankwo had a night on the attack with 14 kills and an impressive .636 hitting percentage with a pair of blocks. 
• Fabiano provide eight kills with Allison and Lombardo each providing four kills. 
• Lombardo set up the offense with 30 assists to go with six digs and two aces.
• Dakhensey Marcellus and Barbera each held down the defensive unit with 14 digs and 12 digs, respectively.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk advances to the GNAC semifinals for the first time in program history, winning its first league tournament game for the first time in 13 appearances. 
• The Rams defeated the Lasers for the first-time in program history. 
• Nwankwo notched a season-best 14 kills.

Courtesy of Suffolk Athletics Communications.

#3 COLBY-SAWYER 3, #6 SIMMONS 1
NEW LONDON, N.H. – The third-seeded Colby-Sawyer College women's volleyball team defeated sixth-seeded Simmons University Sharks, 3-1, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament Quarterfinal match Tuesday evening. The Chargers won by scores of 25-20, 26-24, 23-25 and 25-23.

Colby-Sawyer improves to 21-10 and advances to the GNAC Semifinals on Thursday at second-seeded Rivier (7:30 PM). The Raiders advanced with a 3-0 win over seventh-seeded Emmanuel. Simmons, which advanced to the GNAC Championship last season, ends its season at 14-15.

Colby-Sawyer first-year Maddie Bromley (Truckee, Calif.) led all players with 16 kills and 19 digs. Junior Naarah Cox (Boston, Mass.) added nine kills, two solo blocks and five block assists. She moved into eighth in career blocks with 217. Senior Courtney Murray (Quincy, Mass.) chipped in five kills to move into ninth in career kills with 864. First-year setter Anna Allen (Los Angeles, Calif.) posted a match best 37 assists, while junior Morgan Flynn (Reading, Mass.) finished with 15 digs. 

Simmons was led by first-year Amanda Fortune (Round Rock, Texas.). She registered 11 kills on .444 hitting and added four block assists. First-year Krissy Lloyd (Tampa, Fla.) also reached double figures with 10 kills. Sophomore Faith Gray-Williams (Las Vegas, Nev.) filled the stat sheet with nine kills, 22 assists and 17 digs.

The home team raced out to an 8-2 lead in the first set, which was capped by a Sam Mohammed (Killingworth, Conn.) kill. Simmons rallied to eventually tie the set at 11-11 after a kill by Lloyd. With the score 20-18, Colby-Sawyer finished the set on a 5-2 run, thanks to three kills from Bromley, including the set-clincher. Bromley had six kills in the set.

The second set was close throughout and featured nine ties and three lead changes. Simmons took an 18-13 lead to force a Colby-Sawyer timeout. The Chargers battled back to tie the score at 21-21 to force a Simmons timeout. The teams traded the next few points until the Chargers closed the frame with a kill from Katarina Hornung (Stratton, Colo.) and a Simmons error. First-year Reilly Coombs (Deland, Fla.) had four kills for Simmons, while Bromley added five more to her total.

The third set had more drama as it featured 10 ties and six lead changes. The Chargers held a 15-13 lead, but a few errors, coupled with kills from Coombs and Riley Roberge (Peoria, Ariz.), put the Sharks in front 19-16. Leading 21-18 for the second set in a row, Simmons was able to close the frame out with a kill from Fortune.

The fourth set did not disappoint as the result was in doubt throughout the stanza. The score was tied, for the 10th time, at 19-19 when Simmons committed a couple of errors and took a timeout. The Chargers then benefited from two more service errors and closed the match with Sam Mohammed's sixth kill of the match.

Courtesy of Colby-Sawyer Athletics Communications.

#2 RIVIER 3, #7 EMMANUEL 0
NASHUA, N.H. - The Rivier University Women's Volleyball team, who entered the 2018 Great Northeast Athletic Conference tournament as the overall second seed, swept visiting seventh seeded Emmanuel College, 3-0 this evening in the GNAC Tournament Quarterfinals. The Raiders are now 26-6 on the season and have advanced to their 17th consecutive GNAC Semifinals. The Saints' season comes to an end with a 9-18 overall record.

Rivier earned the victory by set scores of 25-16, 25-17 and 26-24.

Graduate Courtney Collins (Litchfield, N.H.) led the all-around effort for the Raiders as she tallied the game-high with 12 kills while registering a .429 hitting percentage on the offensive side and recorded six total blocks and a dig defensively. Freshman Sydney Racevicius(Woodbury, Conn.) chipped in with an eight-kill, nine-dig effort as junior Taylor Dunster (Sutton, Mass.) provided additional help with her seven-kill, eight-dig night. Senior Hayley Macken (Clifton Park, N.Y.) directed the offense with 30 assists and also obtained the game-high with 11 digs.

Senior Mary Shelow (Miami, Fla.) was the leader for Emmanuel as she accumulated a team-high 8 kills while classmate Casey Sheehan (Medway, Mass.) hammered down six kills and scooped up nine digs. Senior Carly Church (Higganum, Conn.) dished out 20 helpers and picked up seven digs in the loss with fellow senior Katharine Journeay (Hampton, N.H.) matching Macken for the game-high of 11 digs.

Rivier will now host third seeded Colby-Sawyer College on Thursday night. Colby-Sawyer defeated Simmons University, 3-1 to advance to the Semifinals. Game time is set for 7pm at the Muldoon Gymnasium.

Courtesy of Rivier Athletics Communications.

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience. 

– #TheGNAC –